Disneyland May Test Guests’ Temperatures When It Reopens

The Walt Disney Company has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. For the first time in history, Disney had to shut down all six of its parks and resorts — this time indefinitely. According to Variety, Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall downgraded Disney stock on Tuesday. Cahall noted that Disneyland and Disney World will most likely not see anything close to full capacity until tests and vaccines are more widespread. Other analysts predicted that parks attendance “could take 24 months to normalize.”

Despite this, Disney executive chairman Bob Iger has been brainstorming on what Disneyland and Disney World will look like in a post-pandemic world. In a recent interview with Barron's, Iger stated:

One of the things that we’re discussing already is that in order to return to some semblance of normal, people will have to feel comfortable that they’re safe. Some of that could come in the form ultimately of a vaccine, but in the absence of that it could come from basically, more scrutiny, more restrictions. Just as we now do bag checks for everybody that goes into our parks, it could be that at some point we add a component of that that takes people’s temperatures, as a for-instance.

Iger’s idea to take parkgoers’ temperatures is partially inspired by actions being taken in China currently to combat the spread of the virus. It’s a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t take into account carriers of the virus who are asymptomatic or in the incubation period. This would also make entry to the parks a longer process, but Iger would be willing to take such precautions “even if it creates a little bit of hardship.”

Either way, it’s going to be a while before we’re allowed to set foot inside the Disney Parks again. If you just can’t wait that long to get your hands on a Disney churro, there’s some good news: Disney has shared the recipe on their blog as a part of their #DisneyMagicMoments At Home series.